Notice of a
hearing regarding the proposed re-zoning of the approximately 42-acre property
(known as the Lakeside at Walnut Hill
Apartments) at the northwest corner of Walnut Hill and Central Expressway (the
“site”) has been or will be mailed to you shortly.

The hearing
before the City Plan Commission is scheduled for Thursday, June 17, at City
Hall. The time of the hearing will be set a week before the hearing.

Please see
below for some details of what Provident Realty Advisors, the developer that
requested the hearing, is proposing for the site.

Please fill
out the notice you receive AND DON’T FORGET TO INCLUDE THE TIME AT WHICH YOU
SIGNED IT.If you omit the time,
your response won’t be considered by the City.

You can
return the notice directly to the City or you can give it to Judy Evans, Cindy
Haynes or any board member so we can hand carry it to the City prior to the
hearing.

Please let us know if you plan to attend the hearing.

Details Regarding
the Re-zoning

Provident
is seeking to re-zone the property from a Planned Development (PD) to a Concept
PD. The Concept PD gives PRA much more flexibility in developing the property
than a PD.

Right now,
there are about 850 apartments on the site. Provident’s proposed re-zoning
would allow them to put 600 apartments on the site AND 475,000 square feet of
commercial space—about the size of Preston Center.In addition, some buildings could be as many
as 8 stories or 140 feet tall.

Let us Know What You’d Like to See

The
Meadows’ Civic Affairs Committee has had numerous meetings with Provident but
Provident is resistant to our requests (primarily for a PD and less density ofcommercial space
and fewer residential units). The Committee continues to develop ideas about an
acceptable level of development that we can discuss as a neighborhood. There is
a sense among most of the neighbors we’ve talked to so far, including those in
nearby neighborhoods, that some sort of development at the site is
desirable.Our goal is to at least
maintain and if possible increase the value of our property.

The Meadows
Neighborhood Association, along with the associations for Glen Lakes, Windsor
Park, and properties to the north of the site, have submitted a letter to Bruce
Wilke and Carol Scott, our representatives on the City Plan Commission, stating
our opposition to any type of zoning that is not a PD

NOTE: Richard Brown, a City employee who
was charged with conducting a detailed analysis of Provident’s proposed
re-zoning, will submit his findings to the City next week—we might want to take
account of his findings/recommendations before we finalize ours.

Any new
formal PD must contain:

1. Maximum
commercial space of 125,000-250,000 square feet for a combination of
office/restaurant/retail use.For
comparison purposes, the development at Lincoln Park
(across NW Highway from NorthPark Mall) is about 150,000 square feet and Highland ParkVillage is about 190,000 square feet.

Agree?

Disagree? If so, why?

2.
Commercial space must be situated no closer than 250 feet to the east of the
alley that borders The Meadows

Agree?

Disagree? If so, why?

3. Two
commercial units may be as large as 25,000 square feet (like Bed, Bath &
Beyond) and one may be as large as 50,000 square feet (like the Flagship Tom
Thumb at Lincoln Park).
All others must be less than 25,000 square feet.

Agree?

Disagree? Is so, why?

4. Maximum
height of commercial space (with height being measured to the pitch of the
roof) is 75 feet for buildings that are 500 feet and beyond from The Meadows, and
50 feet for buildings that are 250-500 feet away from The Meadows. For
comparison purposes, WestVillage would be a good example of the taller space; Lincoln Park is a good
example for the space closer in.

Agree?

Disagree? If so, why?

5.
Residential development along the alley that borders The Meadows must be
single story, owner occupied and a minimum of 2,200 square feet; remaining
residential development can be 2-3 stories.We’d prefer that the backyards of these homes back up to our alley,
rather than a street or alley for those homes.

Agree?

Disagree? If so, why?

6.A new masonry wall, at least 9' high, along
alley that borders The Meadows, and a new masonry wall
along the southern border of The Meadows, from the alley west to Airline.

Agree?

Disagree? If so, why?

Other
issues we’ll be keeping an eye on are (1) the impact on traffic (Richard
Brown’s report to the City will be useful for this) and (2) ingress and egress
to the site, and the impact on The Meadows.